Mighty Claws Adventure Golf is one of the biggest tourist venues to open in Essex over the last few years.

The £1m complex comes complete with lifelike, animatronic dinosaurs including a velociraptor, pteranadon and a jaw-snapping T-Rex as children work their way around the fun course with its tumbling waterfall and dark caves.

The Mighty Claws at Playgolf in Colchester is only the second of its kind in the UK.

So what’s the story behind it and how do you go about building an animatronic dinosaur attraction in Essex?

The almighty T-Rex

Mighty Claws Adventure Golf was created by Allan Saud, part of the family who owns the Playgolf centres.

It all came from a passion of his to inspire children and to create a “fairytale” type world where kids can be happy and be themselves.

The Mighty Claws dinosaurs on the adventure golf course actually started life in a children’s book that Allan wrote – The Mighty Claws Storm a Fortress.

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Fun for the family in Essex

It’s based around a group of dinosaurs, including Truly who can’t run as fast as the others and feels she’s not as good as everyone else. However, when they get into trouble, it’s Truly’s inner strength and quick wit that saves the day.

“The message in the Mighty Claws books are really important to me,” Allan told Essex Live. “You don’t have to be able to run the fastest or be the cleverest to have confidence in yourself. You just need to find what you’re good at and believe in yourself. I think that’s a really important message to send out to children.”

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The books are based on a group of young dinosaurs who have to make it through the day without getting scared or squashed (Image: Nat Luurtsema)

Allan then handed over the reins of the Mighty Claws books to established author Nat Luurtsema, who is continuing the series with the same motivational messages for today’s children.

At the same time as creating the books, Allan was working with his family’s Playgolf business on expanding what they offer to members.

“We are always looking at ways to create more for our members’ families and particularly children,” Allan said. “That’s why we’ve added the restaurants and gym and a small spa. We realised we needed more for smaller children and adventure golf was the obvious way to go. It also acts as a feeder into Playgolf too, if you can get young children picking up a putter then they might want to go on to the driving range when they’re older.

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Dinosaur-mad kids will be in their element

“But I wanted to make sure we created something that was different to all the other adventure golfs out there. I believe we have done that. It’s not just a few holes of golf, Mighty Claws is an experience. I wanted to create a fairytale world where you feel you have walked into somewhere magical.”

There is also the educational side to Mighty Golf which makes it stand out from its competitors. All around the course there are information boards about each dinosaur, what they ate and their habitat. At the entrance to the course there are also signs explaining the Mighty Claws story and about the creatures within it. School packs and interactive books are also being developed to tie in with Key Stage 1, 2, and 3 – a side of the business Allan wants to expand.

His dream is to create a place which is part family fun and part educational – but of course those dinosaurs are a real pull.

“When families walk into Mighty Golf I want them to forget that they’re in Colchester,” Allan said. “I want them to feel like they’ve entered some sort of dinotopia.”

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So how did Allan get hold of the animatronic and static dinosaurs that are the key attraction to his two adventure golf courses?

“I did a lot of research and we ended up going to China to get them made,” he said. “We looked at a lot of manufacturers and eventually went with the one that made the most realistic dinosaurs. We wanted the best quality ones we could get. It was important that they looked good, could move and made realistic sounds. We went out to China and the animatronic dinosaurs were built for us. The characters in the books are actually the static dinosaurs so they don’t move but it’s been wonderful to see them come to life.”

When Essex families play the Mighty Claws golf course, there is a special soundtrack playing which adds to the experience. “The music was written in a professional studio in LA and it was purposely made to sound like a movie soundtrack,” Allan said. “If you turn the music off, it changes the whole experience. The music helps immerse you in the Mighty Claws world.”

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Allan now has big expansion plans for the future of the Mighty Claws brand. He is currently working on three other adventure golf sites and hopes to build up to 25 more of the attractions over the next few years. Some of these will be at the six Playgolf sites around the UK, but many will be standalone attractions.

Each Mighty Golf course takes some inspiration from the town it’s in, so the Colchester one has a Roman theme to tie in with the town’s history. Some of the dinosaurs sport Roman helmets and swords.

Allan also hopes to produce more books, merchandise and even a theme park in the future.

“I have big plans for Mighty Claws,” he said. “There is a real need for places where parents can take their children that are active and outdoors. Our adventure golf courses are also available across the generations, little children can play it and so can their grandparents.

“We’ve only been open for a few days in Essex but the feedback so far has been amazing. Children are walking onto the course and you can see the smiles on their faces. It makes it all worthwhile.

"We’re looking forward to welcoming in lots of families who want to come and see what Mighty Claws is like.”